In this episode we traverse a lot of Viking ground. Dr. Jesch is a scholar who has written on several aspects of the Viking Age over a long and distinguished career, from women and the Nordic diaspora to poetry and the runes. We talk to her about the influence Vikings had on the various areas where they traveled and settled, the difference between Skaldic and Eddic poetry, and what a Viking Age poetry performance looked and sounded like. We discuss the transition from oral to written culture and the amazing ability to commit things to memory that the Vikings possessed.
If you’d rather watch the video version of the interview, you can find it here.
The Saga of the Earls of Orkney and Skaldic Poetry